Film Discussion Guide

This guide is an invitation to dialogue. It is based on a belief in the power of human connection, designed for people who want to use this documentary to engage family, friends, classmates, colleagues and communities. In contrast to initiatives that foster debates in which participants try to convince others that they are right, this document envisions conversations undertaken in a spirit of openness in which people try to understand one another and expand their thinking by sharing viewpoints and listening actively. The discussion prompts are intentionally crafted to help a wide range of audiences think more deeply about the issues in the film. Rather than attempting to address them all, choose one or two that best meet your needs and interests. And be sure to leave time to consider taking action. Planning next steps can help people leave the room feeling energized and optimistic, even in instances when conversations have been difficult.

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Film Information

Filmmakers

Linda Goode Bryant

Laura Poitras

Flag Wars’ narrative structure is designed to ‘drop’ the viewer into the film’s events so they gradually watch the story unfold and come to
understand the community through the people who live there, rather
than through talking heads or voice-overs.”

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Critical Acclaim

“Documentary finesse can . . . be seen in Flag Wars. . . . The film is fascinating point-of-view storytelling.”

&mdash Elvis Mitchell, New York Times

Flag Wars, the extraordinarily moving documentary by Linda Goode Bryant and Laura Poitras, tells the story of an increasingly common but little-documented American phenomenon  the economic and ideological clashes involved in urban gay gentrification . . . Featuring an immediate vérité style, unforgettable subjects, and a hauntingly elegiac jazz score by Graham Haynes, the film is as deeply moving as it is politically astute.”

&mdash The Advocate

The ‘gentrification’ of poor neighborhoods may sound like a good thing,
if you're white and middle class. But what about the poorest of the poor who may own a ramshackle house and not have the money to make necessary repairs?
This insightful documentary presents a black neighborhood invaded by white gays
who seem at first unsympathetic to their black neighbors. But the seed of solution is here and it lies in unselfish volunteerism.”